nice weather, food planning, debt update

so it's been such a beautiful day and week for that matter that we have spent most of our time outside. including henry our new cocker spaniel. he has seriously surprised me with how obedient he has been! he stays close (for the most part) unless he sees a car. but if i catch his gaze before he takes off and tell him "stay" he really does stay. he has the potential to be a very obedient dog, but he is still a puppy. recently he found a friend to play with 3 houses down and her name is Lilo. she is a bit bigger than him, but has the same color, so he almost looks like her puppy! we've gone over to "play" with her 3 times so far, and this afternoon when we opened the door to go outside, he trotted over to her house, right up to the front door, while i was trying to call him back. i went looking for him and found him with his nose in the corner of the door waiting for it to open and looking at me like, "i want to play with my friend mom" it was so cute! so i knocked, and he got all excited his non-existent tail wagging away. they weren't home and i knew that, but he sure wanted to play. he's getting better at not pottying in the house, so i guess he's gonna stay with us.

ah, i really love fall weather. i love it because after fall it gets colder not hotter! and down here that doesn't happen for very long. i also love it cuz i get to bring out the gumbo and other hot foods perfect for cold days. speaking of food, i've decided to make a meal calendar for breakfast (which is usually a bowl of cereal) lunch, dinner, and snacks, along with drinks for the kids, that way i'll know what groceries we need and i don't have to come up with dinner at the last minute. (at least the plan is i can look at it in the morning and see what needs to get ready for dinner rather than putting it off). i've done this for 3 weeks now (i plan 2 weeks at a time) and i'm finally coming around to depending on it. it's much easier being told what to cook than think up something different for me, and it has really kept our grocery budget down where i want it to be for now while we take out our debt. i guess now all i want is to make lunches for john to eat at work rather than all that expensive fast food, then we'll be in great shape. getting into a routine is the key for me, then it can become a habit. i'm getting there! woo hoo!

and an update on our debt, we have about $7400 to go excluding the house and we will be debt free! it has been a little difficult holding off buying things for the house like a new sugar canister cuz the lid is cracked on the one we have now, or hose holders, or paint, or window treatments...the list could go on, but! we are refraining from buying the "wants". my motto is, a little sacrifice can go a long way, and can ultimately strengthen your self-control. i can't wait till we can be rid of our debt for good!